


Loves, Loved, Will Love

by Cowboy_Sneep_Dip



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Bathing/Washing, Changing Tenses, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Grammar is Hard, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage Proposal, Non-Linear Narrative, Okay if you've read this you might notice slight updates but, One (1) tragedy piece, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reunions, a lot of cuddling in beds, chilling on rooftops, rather than posting a bunch, this is now just an anthology for all my lucisev one-shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-03-14 19:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip/pseuds/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip
Summary: The words are hard and nothing seems adequate to lock the flow of time into something cohesive, convenient and digestible, but Lucina loves her, now, in this moment. More than that, she cannot say.A collection of Lucisev ficlets! A bit of romance, a bit of drama, a bit of fluff. Light spoilers for Awakening and Fates.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ideally, this is going to be a collection of vignettes from different points in Lucina and Severa's life. While many of these are thematically linked/share particular elements, they are all technically standalone and thus there isn't linear continuity between all of them. 
> 
> Starting off with something simple to set the tone. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Oh, update: feel free to leave prompts in the comments/send me them on tumblr, because I am literally always writing about or talking about or thinking about these stupid girls, so I'm down to do community-recommended stuff!

Lucina sleeps in fits and starts, as she does most nights. It’s almost a ritual at this point. Waking, wiping the sweat from her brow and the tears from her eyes. Adjusting her nightclothes with shaking hands, clothes sent askew by her tossing and turning. Flipping her pillow to a dry side, a side not dampened by her frantic, sweaty thrashing.

She sighs and pushes her bangs out of her eyes, guessing by the moonlight streaming through the window that morning is still some time off. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying in vain to push the last vestiges of her nightmare from her brain, trying instead to conjure up images of light and love and happiness. None come to her and she squeezes tighter, digging through her mind for something to bring her comfort.

She tries thinking of her father, but what comes to mind is his body, brought home late one night by the remnants of his guard. The dark blood soaked into his cape, the trickle of red down his chin. Bloodstained Falchion, the only inheritance left behind. Nighttime always did this to her and she wanted nothing more than to move the hands of the clock forward, to open her eyes and be greeted by the light of dawn where all her troubles would vanish back into the dark recesses of the night. Where she would see her father, alive and well before her, his corpse nothing but a memory.

A memory? Or a prophecy? If it was a vision from a future that had not yet come to pass, what did that make her recollections? She had seen the future, yet she is no oracle. She is nothing but a girl alone with her ghosts.

From beside her, a snore interrupts her thoughts.

Lucina feels her worries melt off her like snow before a flame. She is not alone. In the dark future, in her dreams, perhaps. But here, in bed she shares with another, she is not alone.

Severa snorts again and rolls over.

Lucina props herself up on one arm and stares at her, helpless to stop a soft smile from inching across her lips.

Severa is tangled in the sheets, one bare leg sticking out to the side, arms wrapped tight around her pillow. Her mouth is slightly open, a trail of saliva dripping from the corner of her lips to her pillow. Her hair is sprawled out around her, a veritable river of crimson enveloping her. As Lucina watches her she tugs her pillow tighter and snores, the noise only somewhat muffled. She smacks her lips and accidentally rests her cheek in a spot of drool, making Lucina grimace.

With a single unsteady hand, she reaches out and touches Severa’s hair, letting her fingers sift through the long red tresses. She only ever lets her hair down at night. Lucina knows it’s a sore subject, but she thinks it’s beautiful and secretly wishes she’d wear it down more. She lightly strokes Severa’s hair and closes her eyes, trying to focus on the soft, silky texture. In the future it was a pain to take care of, and now Severa indulges herself with every material comfort she can – fancy shampoos and conditioners, styling products, all sorts of oils and creams that Lucina has no real understanding of but appreciates the results. Her hair smells like flowers tonight.

Lucina opens her eyes and withdraws her hand, tightening the soft bedsheet around her. Well, as much as she can, since her companion has hogged most of it – despite overheating and casting most of it off to the side. It’s as endearing as it is frustrating, but Lucina would rather sleep next to her than in any other bed in the world. The beds of kings and emperors were nothing compared to this. This bed, draped in loosely-fitted sheets, crammed into the corner of a tiny room on the second floor of a third-rate hostel, smelling slightly of mothballs and damp, lit only by the moonlight streaming through the incorrectly-fitted blinds. This bed, _her_ bed, that she would not trade for anything. She reached out again to brush Severa’s cheek with her thumb. Severa’s bed, and therefore Lucina’s.

It had been three years since they had been separated. The gate back in time had been cruel to deprive her of even this, such simple comfort. There had been no time to search for her, not when there was work to be done. Thwarting the Exalt’s assassination, saving her father. The war with Plegia. And then…then it was impossible. Too much time had passed for them to know where the other was. Not just a needle in a haystack but a droplet in a deluge. Both moving constantly, ever searching but never standing still. An impossibility.

Lucina had long ago come to terms with that. She accepted their fate, and was happy enough knowing that Severa had been saved, spared the horrible fate the future had thrust upon them. Even if they were not together, Severa was alive. And in that sense, a small victory had already been won.

Except the future had not been won. The Exalt was killed after all, and now Valm was threatening to destroy the fragile peace Lucina’s father had worked so hard for. The peace Emmeryn had sacrificed herself for.

With some ironic disdain, she had to admit that the war did _some_ good. It brought her Severa back to her. Granted, under less-than-ideal circumstances, but war means work for mercenaries. And what other work could be found by displaced soldiers, raised with no other skills than to fight and survive? Severa had found the only work she was qualified for.

And then, three years after they had last seen each other, they found themselves face-to-face in the dust outside a mercenary fortress. What had Lucina said back then? In her shock, what words had she let slip?

_It’s you._

The moment of silence, the gulf between motions that seemed to last an eternity. Severa had said nothing, eyes flashing with anger before turning in a huff. Had she even recognized Lucina? She looked older, perhaps, but…

Severa had seen right past her, eyes fixed on her mother. But for the rest of the battle it had eaten away at Lucina, the fear and panic that Severa had forgotten her, or that she had been angry about something.

It’s not like they had even been lovers, before. Was that right?

Lucina shifts in bed, trying to get comfortable, wishing she could still her noisy thoughts. Wishing there was some way to get peace and quiet in her head for once in her damn life.

They weren’t lovers in that distant future, true. They were something. What was the term Inigo had jokingly used? Friends with benefits? That seemed so trivial, as did it necessitate friendship. Not friends with benefits. Companions with needs. So no, they had not been lovers.

But for her part, Lucina loved her. Maybe that wasn’t the right word. Or the right tense.

Would have loved? Will have had loved? May love? The words are hard and nothing seems adequate to lock the flow of time into something cohesive, convenient and digestible, but Lucina loves her, now, in this moment. More than that, she cannot say.

She fights the urge to climb on top of Severa, to straddle her and press their lips together and do all the wicked, dirty, embarrassing things she’s dreamt about for the past three years. The sorts of things she’s ashamed to even think about in the daylight, but here under the curtain of darkness, witnessed by none but the light of the moon, here these things feel right, feel necessary. And by the gods themselves does she want it. She rolls onto her side and stares are Severa, admires the curves of her body draped in the silk sheets and her nigh-translucent cotton nightshirt, just enough form in the dark for Lucina to reach out and rest her hand lightly, reverently on Severa’s waist.

She can feel she slight shifting of skin beneath her touch and she wants nothing more than to tear down this fragile wall, this thin barrier of lace keeping her fingertips from the flesh of Severa’s side.

She wants to grab tightly to her, to press their bodies together, to become one like they’ve done so many times before, the very act they had been deprived of these past years.

Though before, it wasn’t like this. It was animalistic, cathartic, a physical reaction without emotion or reason beyond desperate, clawing need. A dance of flesh and lips and fire that dissolved when exposed to the morning light and was soon lost in the haze of blood and steel that their future past had thrust upon them.

But there was none of that now. Nothing but the two of them, and the silk sheets, and the moonlight. Lucina feels it like an old friend, the warmth coiling in her abdomen, that familiar need clawing itself out from her innards and trailing up her spine and whispering into her ears to grasp onto Severa and to kiss her and touch her and give her every ounce of love Lucina has to give. And she wants nothing more than to give into the voice.

But she doesn’t, and Severa rolls onto her back and begins idly chewing a loose strand of hair like a cow chewing grass, and Lucina giggles and makes a face as she extracts the stray lock and then she drapes her arm across Severa’s stomach and presses her face into her shoulder and all is right with the world again.

She inhales deeply, taking in Severa’s scent – the almost imperceptible tinge of the sweat that accumulates along her brow, a soft hint of gardenias in her hair, the admittedly slight staleness of her nightshirt.

Lucina tightens her grip on Severa and pulls her closer, savoring the warmth and the scent and the feeling of skin and fabric and the pale moonlight and the red of her hair and everything, every part of this moment. Severa rolls again, nuzzling into her shoulder, curling up in her embrace, tangling arms and hair and sheets until there’s nothing for Lucina, nothing but a cocoon of warmth and love and soft shadow.

Perhaps they were not lovers in that distant future past. But this is not that future. This is now, the present, the reality Lucina inhabits regardless of where she has been, where she had been, where she will be. It’s still confusing and making sense of it all makes her head spin. They were not lovers then, not in that world devoid of love, of light. Devoid of the freedom to live, to kiss and laugh and dance. But that world is gone, and now, perhaps…

Perhaps they are lovers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina takes some time off from saving the world as Marth to get a quiet dinner with her roommate. Pre-Chapter 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I wanted to do a bunch more for this, but I forgot I had a con to go to so all my writing time went towards that stuff
> 
> OH also for clarification these short snippets aren't necessarily part of the same story - they're meant to be reflections of timeline divergence, of the many possible realities that Severa and Lucina can potentially inhabit. So yes I realize the details of each chapter won't line up with each other! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Edit: jk I'm back with more stuff moving forward

“Hey, you awake?”

Lucina blinked.

“Hello? Hey! You in there?”

Lucina shook her head, sending a scattering of white flakes around her head like a fluttering halo of confetti. “Huh? Sorry, were you saying something?”

Severa squinted at her. “You okay, Luci?”

Lucina took a minute to get her bearings. It was a snowy night, the sounds of the city muffled by the soft dusting of white accumulating around lampposts and burying parked handcarts. The firelight inside the lamps made the night air around them seem to glow, lighting up the flurries with a haze of muted orange light. A few pedestrians still milled about, going shopping, dipping in and out of taverns and inns. A few were in a hurry, racing to their destinations in a vain effort to beat the snow.

She turned her attention to her companion.

Severa was cross, as usual; hands on her hips, glaring with some mixture of annoyance and concern. She was dressed warmly, having forgone her usual mercenary gear in something a little better suited to the Feroxi winter – sweater tights under her skirt, a fur-lined jacket, and a patchwork blue scarf tangled around her neck. She reached up a mitten-clad hand and pulled the scarf down from her mouth, speaking more clearly. “You with me?”

“What? Y-yeah,” Lucina stammered. Her boots crunched in the snow, sinking an inch or so into the fresh powder, packing it down as she walked.

“Okay. Just don’t…you know, wander into the street and get run over by a horse or something, okay?”

“Yeah,” Lucina said half-heartedly. She stuck her hands into the pockets of her insulated coat. She – well, not her, but Severa – had managed to snag one in her favorite shade of navy blue somehow. Severa passed it off as no big deal at the time, but Lucina got the feeling she had scoured half the city’s shopping districts in pursuit of it.

“The color suits you,” she had told her.

Lucina smiled, lost in her own mind as Severa chatted about something or other, going on about her day, or the weather, or the landlord, or her captain, or any of the other things that Severa often complained – _ahem_ \- conversed about.

Lucina smiled and laughed softly at some inconsequential joke. They walked together through the streets of Aurelis, the third-most populous city in the East-Khan of Regna Ferox. It was situated snugly against the Ylissean border and had served as their home-base of sorts for the past few months. It had enabled Lucina to do her secretive work as Marth while Severa made them money through mercenary work. So rarely did their schedules intersect like this, and Lucina wanted to cherish the moment, but she couldn’t help but feel that Severa seemed distracted, somehow. The way she spoke was with a sort of unspecified anxiety, the words of someone eagerly filling the time without giving care or consideration to what was actually coming out of her mouth.

“Sev, are you okay?” Lucina asked her curiously.

“W-what?” Severa laughed nervously. “O-of course I am! I’m just cold,” she said, shivering for added affect. “It’s just the d-damned snow.”

Lucina nodded, unconvinced.

It was nice that they had this time together, but they both seemed preoccupied with something, Lucina with all her troubles and Severa with…whatever it was she was concerned with.

“Are you sure?” Lucina asked again.

“Yeah!” Severa said. She glared. “Jeez, don’t you trust me or something? I said I’m fine, so I’m fine!”

Lucina laughed and held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Where’s this place we’re going to, anyway?”

“It’s just around the corner,” Severa crossed her arms in a huff. “It’s like a minute away, don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Lucina sighed. No sense in pushing her even if something was wrong.

The cold, blustery snow soon gave way to the soft warmth of their destination – a pub Severa had picked out for dinner. A warm, homey place that was just the thing they needed on a cold winter’s night. The aroma of roasting meat and fresh-baked bread, the stale scent of ale in the air, the crackling of an open fire. The hushed murmurs of a middling-sized evening crowd, drowned out only somewhat by a minstrel plucking uncertainly at a lute in the corner.

They slid into a booth, both taking the time to extricate themselves from their layers and layers of winter gear. Severa immediately ordered them both drinks.

“So,” Lucina said expectantly.

“So what?” Severa asked, already halfway through a pint of ale. Lucina could feel the booth jiggling as Severa tapped her foot anxiously.

Lucina gestured at her. “What’s this all about? What’s the occasion?”

“Oh,” Severa said, trying to be nonchalant. “It’s…you know, it’s just…we never actually get to see each other, so I thought it would be nice to…” her voice trailed off.

Lucina nodded. It _was_ nice, It was warm, here. Warm, comfortable, and brimming with all the accoutrements of a hearth and home. “Fair enough,” she conceded. She sipped her own drink. It was bitter and burned as it ran down her throat. She suppressed a cough. It didn’t taste great – the Feroxi people were never known for indulging in such trivialities as ‘flavor’ when it came to their drinks, and this was no exception. But it was a good burn and it made her feel warm as she drank.

“So how was your, uh…your thing?” Severa asked. She made an attempt to flag down a server.

“Oh! Um, that. It was good, I guess.”

“You guess? I mean…you either did it or you didn’t, right?”

Lucina frowned. “Y-yeah, I guess so.” She lowered her voice. “You know I can’t really talk about it, Severa.”

Severa took another swig of her drink. “Oh…oh, right. Well…consider this a celebration dinner, then.” She smirked. “You know, a reward for altering the course of history or whatever.”

Lucina rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure. How’s your job been since I’ve been gone?”

Severa grumbled and folded her arms on the table. “Terrible. The captain’s still an ass, and I had to spent two weeks patrolling a storehouse that had some nobleman’s crap in it.”

“You got paid for it, though? That’s what really matters.”

“Yep. And all of that money is going into my stomach tonight!” Severa said, finishing off her drink and immediately ordering a second one.

“H-hey!” Lucina protested. “We need that money for rent!”

“Relax,” Severa waved her off. “I have another assignment in a few days.”

“What is it this time?”

“Caravan guard. Three weeks.”

“Three weeks?” Lucina said. “I hope they’re paying you well for that.”

“Two hundred,” Severa growled. A server brought their food and Severa dug in, chewing on a hunk of roast chicken as she spoke. “Two hundred gold for three weeks in the rain and the mud just so some merchant can get all his stuff to Plegia.”

Lucina frowned. “That’s not enough for the month’s rent, Sev.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Severa snapped, slamming her drink angrily on the table. “I’m here to have a good time, Lucina. I don’t want to think about that.”

“You can’t just ignore it and blow all our money on- “ Lucina gestured at Severa’s undoubtedly decadent spread of food. “on this!”

“It’s my money,” Severa ripped another bite of meat from bone and finished chewing before continuing. “I’ll spent it how I want. If it’s such a big deal, maybe you can get a job or something.” She washed down her food with the rest of her drink and ordered a third. “I hear the arena fights pay, and the Khan is looking for a new champion.”

“Why don’t _you_ do that, then?” Lucina asked. “If mercenary work is so bad.”

“Because I don’t want to die, moron. Mercenary work doesn’t pay well, but its safer than the arena.”

“ _I_ can’t do it,” Lucina said. “I have things I need to get done. I have to leave early tomorrow for Ylisstol.”

“Yeah,” Severa said glumly. “I know. You always do.”

“Don’t do this again. Don’t put this on me,” Lucina said. “You know what’s at stake.”

“I know,” Severa said. Her voice seemed strained, almost whispered.

Lucina sighed and poked at her own food. She had ordered economically and regretted it – her stew smelled fragrant and delicious but paled in comparison to Severa’s veritable feast. She had lost her appetite anyway.

This always seemed to happen. Every time they were together, it was only a matter of time before they started fighting again. It was just the stress of it all – the weight of the future looming before them, their blood-and-tearstained past that neither seemed capable of leaving behind, and even their present, the day-to-day struggle for food, shelter, and comfort. Those things existed in this world, but that didn’t mean they were easy to come by.

Severa seemed particularly bitter and ate the rest of her meal in relative silence. By the end of the night, she had managed to get through six drinks, and what should have been a pleasant, hazy drunkenness instead seemed to Lucina more like a bitter, spiteful drowning of misery.

They trudged back through the town, speaking only a handful of words as they went. The cold air and flecks of snow felt good on Lucina’s flushed cheeks. And nothing, not even Severa’s foul mood, could spoil that. The material comforts of a warm, full belly and snow on her cheeks and her fingertips brushing against Severa’s as they walked. Had the evening gone better, she might have been at the right level of buzzed confidence to try holding her hand. But now it would have been just another fight. She sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets.

Severa fixed her gaze on the snow under her boots, her face caught somewhere between a scowl and frustrated moroseness. She led them through the streets, stopping at a plaza overlooking the lower portion of the city. They looked out over the snowy rooftops silently, snowflakes drifting in gusts between them. Severa rested her hands on the stone baluster that wrapped around the plaza in a semi-circle. She fussed with the snow, packing it into clumps before tossing them over the edge at the clustered buildings below.

“You don’t remember, do you?” She asked, not looking up. The lower portion of her face was still buried in her scarf.

Lucina gave her a curious look. “Remember what?”

“Th…that pub.” Severa said quietly. “It’s where we first ate after we found each other again. Do you remember?”

Lucina let out a sharp laugh, suddenly recalling. “Gods, I had forgotten all about that.” She leaned against the baluster and brushed her hair back. “I ate so much I thought I was going to burst,” she said with fondness. “And you were drunk off your ass. I’m surprised _you_ remember.”

Severa laughed, but it wasn’t a warm laugh. It seemed wistful, almost. She nodded. “Yeah, I remember. We spent the night here, since we didn’t have the money for an inn” she said, turning and leaning back against the railing, surveying the plaza. It was a neat little park, all stone pathways lined with benches, a tidily constructed stone gazebo in the middle. Tonight, late in the evening and with a snowstorm gearing up, it was entirely empty. Not a soul in the snowy wonderland save the two of them, at the very edge.

Lucina took a few steps forward, her feet tracking through the fresh powder. “I wish I could stay,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I have to leave again so suddenly.”

Severa watched her back and took a deep breath.

_Okay, Severa. Okay. You can do it. You can do it. Just…just do it._

Severa swallowed before taking a cautious step forward. She reached into her pocket, fingering the band of smooth, cold metal within. She dropped to one knee behind Lucina, taking deep, modulated breaths.

_Come on, Sevvy. Get it together._

“L-Luci, I-“ she stammered weakly, her voice lost in a sudden rush of wind and flurry of snow.

Lucina was still staring off into the plaza, lost in thought, her wits likely not aided by the several pints that she, too, had running through her Exalted blood.

Severa cleared her through and tried to speak louder, wincing as she felt her voice audibly falter. “Lucina, w-“

She felt her eyes flood with tears. Why was she so upset? Why was she faltering now, of all times? She let out a choked gasp and dropped to both knees, slumping in the snow. She felt her heart crumbling in equal measure with her courage.

Through teary eyes she stared at Lucina’s back, begging her to not turn around, to not see her like this. Kneeling in the wet snow, hot tears running down her cheek, paralyzed by her own cowardice and fear. _Why?_ She cursed herself.

She hated it. Hated her inability to act how she wanted, to speak how she wanted. It felt like her own mind was thwarting her at every turn. That same mind that made her voice every sour thought that crossed her mind, made her deride and insult even the people she cared most about, the mind that refused to let her sleep, refused to let her _be happy_. She wanted to bury her head in the snow and curl up, letting herself be covered up by the blizzard, letting herself be buried, frozen solid, where she could hide from the world and wouldn’t have to deal with any of it anymore. She choked out a sharp gasp and wiped her eyes.

Lucina was still facing forward, gazing pensively into the plaza. She turned.

Propelled by fear of being seen in such a state, Severa bolted to her feet and threw her arms around Lucina, squeezing tightly, not letting her turn around.

“Wh-?” Lucina tried to speak.

“Just…wait,” Severa said, pressing tighter against her back. “I…I just…”

“Severa?” Lucina asked.

Severa released her death-grip on Lucina and let her turn.

“Severa, what’s wrong?” Lucina asked, seeing her tear-stained face. “Are you okay?”

“Let me see your hand,” Severa commanded, her angry voice weakened somewhat by the crying. Not waiting for Lucina to respond, she grasped her hand and pulled it up parallel to the ground. Glaring angrily, she thrust her hand into her pocket and withdrew her ring. Not her ring, no – her mother’s ring, the only object she cared about in the entire world. She took Lucina’s hand and pried her ring finger up to slide the ring on.

“S-Sev-“ Lucina stammered, somewhat in shock.

“Promise me,” Severa said through her tears. “Promise me you’ll come back to me.”

“I p-promise,” Lucina said, puzzled. “Of course I will.”

“Say it! Promise me!” Severa snapped.

“I…I promise I’ll come back to you.” Lucina said, starting at Severa’s dark eyes.

Severa’s façade crumbled and she collapsed into Lucina’s arms. “Promise me,” she repeated. “Promise me you won’t die.” She wept, relief and fear and uncertainty mingling in her mind. “Promise me you’re mine.”

Lucina wrapped her arms around her and held on tightly. “Of course I am.”

They stood together in the snowy plaza, white flakes fluttering in flurried and eddies around them, nestled in each other’s arms. Severa buried her face into Lucina’s chest. None of it mattered – not the war, not money, not rent or food or Grima himself. All that mattered to her was this moment, the warmth of Lucina’s body, the slow rise and fall of her chest. The slight sniffles, whether from tears or cold Severa wasn’t sure. She squeezed tighter, not wanting to ever let go, but knowing the moment must end. The future was coming, whether she wanted it or not. The blood, the death, the fear was unavoidable – it could be months, it could be years, but they would have to face him again. They would have to stand up against the scourge of the world.

But now that future somehow felt less frightening. Even if they had to face down Grima himself, even if they had to forge a new future in the fires of war, they would do it together, hand in hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina and Severa return from a broken and blighted future to a world brimming with beauty, and take a moment to relax and refresh themselves before plunging into yet another war. Immediately post-time leap, assuming Lucina doesn't drop in the middle of a battle.

“Come on, it’s not gonna hurt you.”

Severa stood, shivering and clad in just her plain underclothes, her arms wrapped tight around her stomach. She was shin-deep in cold, clear water.

“Look, see?” Lucina, dressed to match, swept a hand forward and thrust it into the stream of water cascading from above.

Severa scowled at the waterfall and looked around. They were both out into the middle of a pond of crystal water that sparkled in the sunlight. The water  was rippling out in waves and swirls from the impact of the waterfall. A rocky cliff extended above, jutting out into the clear blue sky. A warm breeze drifted through the trees, caressing Severa’s bare skin and drawing out a hint of perspiration. Behind them, at the shore in the shade of an overhanging tree, their armor sat discarded into a pile.

Lucina stepped forward into the waterfall and let the water pour over her, soaking her thoroughly, plastering her long, dark hair to her head and shoulders. She laughed and danced forward, reveling in the splashes. She turned back to Severa, her wet bangs draped in front of her eyes. She wiped them back and grinned. “Come on, it’s fun! I promise.”

 “It’s cold,” Severa grumbled half-heartedly.

“Oh, no it’s not,” Lucina teased, wading back to her, dripping wet. “It’s hot out, and you need a bath. Come on.” She reached out to snag Severa’s wrist.

She scowled, her freckled cheeks wrinkling, but she allowed Lucina to tug her towards the waterfall. The falls hit the pool with a fine mist, casting a shroud of sparkling and rainbow-streaked fog around them.

“Look!” Lucina said excitedly. “You can drink it!” To illustrate her point she stepped into the waterfall and tilted her head up to lap at the water cascading down from above. It tasted almost sweet. How long had it been, she wondered idly, since they had clean water? Since they had seen a clear blue sky, or rested in the warm breeze and the shade of full, lush trees?

Severa reached a cautious foot out and tested the waters beneath the fall. Satisfied that it would indeed not hurt, she took another step. She reached out a hand and dipped a fingertip into the water for a split second before withdrawing, as if startled. She reached out another probing finger, this time keeping her hand under the stream for maybe a full second before withdrawing and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

“Look,” Lucina gestured at her again. “It’s not going to hurt you. It feels good!”

“Someone’s going to see us.”

“Who?” Lucina emerged yet again from the waterfall, brushing her bangs from her face. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.” She rested a tender, if wet, hand on Severa’s arm. “I promise, we’re safe. We made it. Look! Nothing’s going to get us.”

“You know I don’t like water.”

Lucina sighed. Okay, another angle. “When’s the last time you had a bath?” She knew the answer, but she wanted Severa to say it.

Severa thought about it. She opened her mouth to speak, then froze.

“Rain doesn’t count,” Lucina cut her off. “A real bath. Getting all the ash and dirt and grime off you. Soap. When.” She grinned; she got her now. All she needed to do was reel her in.

“I was going to say…” Severa frowned. “Ferox? The castle ruins had working plumbing, but…that was at least two months ago. That can’t be it, right?”

Lucina smiled and grabbed her arm. “You need a bath!” she shoved Severa into the water. Severa yelped.

Severa coughed and spluttered and splashed back into the water. The cold water hit her skin and she let out another yelp, hunching over and letting the water pour over her. Her twin tails of red hair were soaked instantly, almost tugging her back into the water, and her bangs plastered to her face. She swiped at her eyes, trying to clear them. Her world was darkness and cold water pounding her back and she felt her chest catch.

Then, before panic could sink in, strong arms wrapped around her. A hand danced across her face, brushing her bangs free, and she found herself staring up into Lucina’s eyes.

“Hey.” Lucina pressed her lips against Severa’s forehead.

She leaned into Lucina’s embrace and rested her head against Lucina’s shoulder. They stood for a minute, silent and entwined beneath the waterfall, shrouded in mist. Severa closed her eyes and felt the water running through her hair, felt her skin pressed against Lucina’s, felt the warm breeze and listened to the rustle of leaves.

It was hard to switch off. Even now she couldn’t _quite_ do it, and she kept a firm lock on a plan of escape. Being somewhere like this made her uncomfortable – it was open, it was loud, the footing was poor, and they were knee-deep in water. Not a good place for an emergency.

Lucina made some comment and laughed at her own dumb joke and they separated. “Okay, for real though, we both need to clean up.”

Severa sighed and assented. To be fair, they _did_ need to get clean – they had arrived in Ylisse splattered with mud and ash and blood, their clothes singed and their hair disheveled. Months – no, years of grime had built up, grime that never seemed to quite come out. A film of ash on their skin that never went away, no matter how hard they scrubbed. Sulfur and smoke in their lungs, blood on their lips.

In contrast, the water here seemed sweet. It was clear, it was pure, it was _fresh_. It didn’t need to be boiled or filtered, it just… _was_. Severa lifted her head and drank. It still felt unreal.

All the colors seemed so unreal. The blue of the sky, the green grass and trees, the sparkling water. Stars at night, embedded in the deep violets of the night sky. Not just greys and reds and blacks and browns. A world of color and beauty, not fire.

Lucina knelt in front of Severa and began washing her, scrubbing the grime from her legs with a cloth. The pool around them grew murky as they took turns washing each other. Severa closed her eyes and felt the water running down her body, felt Lucina’s firm, gentle hands moving over her.

Lucina cleaned diligently, almost reverently, working out the years of dirt and ash, wiping dried blood from healed wounds and patches of scuffed and dirty skin. Severa took her turn, kneeling at Lucina’s feet and returning the favor. They worked patiently and softly. Severa was hesitant to admit it to herself, but she was enjoying it – not just letting Lucina wash her, but the collaborative effort of coming clean together. Scrubbing their aching joints and bruised and bloody skin, washing their dirt-caked hair. Severa combed her fingers through Lucina’s hair, working out knots, as Lucina washed her stomach.

It was quiet – the rustling trees and the splash of water and the far-off singing of birds were the only sounds. Severa took the cloth and began washing Lucina’s back, staring at her toned muscles with detachment. It felt so strange.

It was almost like she was going to wake up, and she’d be back. It was a dream – it had to be. There were godsdamned _rainbows_ , for Naga’s sake. It was perfect – too perfect. The old world was clean and beautiful and what were the odds that they stumbled back through time and landed in a paradise oasis, a beautiful pool nestled deep in the woods.

Severa found herself scanning the trees, looking in the shifting shadows of mottled light. She tried to focus, listening to footsteps or whispers, or the sound of steel scraping out of a sheath. Any second now, she would wake up and be brought back to that hellish world, and this was all just a lie, and-

“Ow!” Lucina yelped, turning. “Ouch!”

“S-sorry!” Severa stammered, realizing she had snagged Lucina’s hair roughly. “Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Lucina said, turning and taking the cloth from Severa’s hand. She smiled. “Are you okay?”

Severa nodded numbly. “It’s just…weird.”

“Yeah,” Lucina agreed. “I can hardly believe we’re…” she frowned. “’Back’ isn’t quite right, is it?”

“Here,” Severa suggested. “We…we really made it, didn’t we?” She looked up into Lucina’s eyes, at once fearful and hopeful. Searching those exalted eyes for reassurance.

Lucina pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead. Severa tilted her face up to catch Lucina’s lips against her own and they kissed tenderly. Lucina pulled her face back but kept their embrace tight. The cool water felt chilly in the breeze, and the warmth of their tangled bodies felt wonderful.

“We did,” Lucina nodded. “We…we really made it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina returns from the future alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry ahead of time for this one. Fair warning, it's the aforementioned tragic piece, it does NOT end happily, and also this gets an informal rating bump for violence.

Lucina stares up at the sky from the flat of her back, motionless, still reeling, though from what she cannot say for sure. The birds sing, clouds drift lazily past the bright midday sun, and Lucina lies in the dirt, cloak stained with blood, cape torn and shredded, rips in her clothes betraying oozing wounds beneath.

She feels tears coming on, finally, and squeezes her eyes shut, feeling them roll down her bruised and bloodied cheeks, falling to the dirt and forming miniscule pinpricks of mud.

Everything hurts: her ribs, likely cracked; her left arm, twisted painfully and likely sprained; her legs, folded beneath her. She lifts a single shaking hand above her head, staring at the trembling, mangled form.

As she holds her hand weakly over her face, she can feel the blood running down her palm, following the trail of her arm and soaking into her clothes. She stares at it, eyes fixed on the seeping crimson.

She had made it, just barely. But no joy courses through her veins, no relief or triumph. Tears are running freely now and she lowers her hand to her chest, clasping a fist against her breast. And at last she lets herself weep.

It had been slow. The gradual degradation of Ylisstol, from the thriving capital to one of the few remaining urban centers, and then finally the last bastion of humanity itself. It had been a slow decent, years of misery and suffering building and building upon each other. More refugees flocking to the crowded streets. More soldiers, more mercenaries. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough space. The Exalt’s struggle to maintain order in the face of the overwhelming truth – there was no hope. It was a war of attrition, and the Risen would win.

Lucina hadn’t cried as she watched Ylisstol burn. She had spent all her tears years before. It was not sadness she had felt watching her home turn to ash. It had been an inevitability they had prepared for. With grim determination, she had grasped her dead father’s blade and fought back.

She had tried, at the very least. She had watched her life crumble around her, her family and friends led forth to slaughter and death. But she had not given up. Not since her father’s funeral had she shed tears, and she vowed she would not, not until the fight was finished. It was not a world for tears, it was a world for steel and action.

Severa had wept, though. Openly and regularly. When her father died, when her mother died. Before the end it was more frequent – even the slightest frustrations had brought bouts of fury. As the situation grew more dire, she grew worse – irritable, insomniac, restless, relentlessly negative. She had expected nothing. The world had shown her cruelty from the first moment she opened her eyes and she saw no light in the darkness, save Lucina.

Lucina had held no doubts – for her, Severa would have torn down the sun and moon. She would have struck the stars from their resting place in the sky. She would have done anything. Given all she had to give.

But beyond that, Severa had not cared that the world burnt to ash around her. She had lost everything she had to lose – her home, her family. She hadn’t bothered to make friends, and in a way Lucina was envious of that. Without attachment, there is no loss. Severa had watched the bodies piling in the infirmary, then the barracks, then the halls. She had watched with disinterest, uncaring. Perhaps she had simply refused to accept it. It was a dream that the world would one day wake from.

She had been tasked with disposing of the dead, a task which she greeted with the same characteristic disdain that punctuated all her actions. It was easier for her to do than it would have been for others.

Lucina had heard the whispers that grew in equal measure to Severa’s pessimism. Most soldiers had avoided her at the very least. She had reached out in an attempt to befriend her before the end.

To die was tragic, but to die alone would have been unbearable. And that’s what Severa had been, for the longest time – entirely alone. Even amidst the crowded castle, she had no friends. She hadn’t wanted any, and the others were more than happy to let her be.

Lucina had watched her train before approaching her – she watched her inelegant, clumsy technique, her lack of skill made worse by the ease with which she became frustrated.

 

_“Here, like this,” Lucina said, holding her own sword out. “Keep the blade straight.”_

_“I don’t need your help.”_

_Lucina sighed and sheathed her sword, cautiously approaching Severa. She touched her arm gently to raise it to the correct position. Severa snapped and shoved her back._

_“I said I don’t need your help!”_

_“Someone needs to teach you to use a sword properly. If you go into battle like that, you won’t stand a chance.”_

_“I can do it myself.”_

_Severa took three steps forward and lunged, slashing her dented iron sword across the training dummy’s chest. Her reward was a puff of straw. She back-stepped clumsily and lunged again, thrusting this time._

_“That first slash wouldn’t have done anything. You barely even pierced the surface. And that’s straw, not armor. And you’re using two moves when one will do.” Lucina was sitting on a hay bale watching, one leg crossed over her knee, her sword resting in her lap. She was scraping a whetstone across the blade. The sound irritated Severa._

_Severa scowled. She took another step back and readied herself. She lunged and thrusted. She slipped and the sword veered to the right, nicking the side of the dummy and sending her face-first into its chest. She came away with a mouthful of straw and spat._

_Lucina continued sharpening her sword. She said nothing, and somehow that was so much worse._

_Severa tried again. She had considered herself decent enough with a blade, though she knew her father would have disagreed immensely. He had been known for his skill with a sword, and for her to be so clumsy, so imprecise…she wasn’t good enough. She was fifteen and swordplay would have been a luxury to know in any other time but this._

_But fifteen-year-olds fought and died every day. More the latter. She felt the anger boiling inside her, the frustration. The unfairness. Her father had promised to teach her to fight when she was old enough. But he died, and Regna Ferox burned, and now no one was left to teach her but this smug girl. No, not smug. Insufferable all the same. With her perfect hair and perfect face and fitted clothes from finecloth and it all just made Severa sick._

_“Fine,” she snarled, throwing her sword to the ground in frustration. It bounced in the dirt and skidded several feet before coming to a rest. Lucina looked up and the scraping noise stopped._

 

They had first kissed in the supply room behind the armory. They were looking for bandages for Severa’s hand, which Lucina had accidentally nicked while sparring. As she held Severa’s hand and tenderly wrapped the bandage around it, she must have felt something. And the next moment they were looking into each other’s eyes, uncomfortably close, that distance where even the slightest, most imperceptible movement spoke volumes. And then the moment after that, when their arms were entwined and Severa’s fist was in her hair and Lucina’s lips were against hers and their mouths were both so hungry and desperate.

Lucina lays bleeding in the dirt under the bright Ylissean sun, sobbing uncontrollably as the memories flood into her. She tries to sit but the pain is too great. She curls inwards instead, gasping for breath and writhing in grief against the hard ground. She should feel relief, but she does not.

Lucina cannot remember who suggested it first. It might have just come about naturally over the following years, the juncture of their rage, their fear, their anxiety, their hunger for anything even resembling a touch of passion or comfort. The sky had grown dark and roiled with black thunderclouds. It had always been dark, even during the day. That day had been rainy, though neither of them cared. It was the motions that mattered, that was all. The swirl of flesh and hair and blood and warmth, the rush of lips and the beat of hearts. Gasping breaths, hushed in the dark and bitter rain. Fingers entwined. Shaking grasps, desperate motions. Hunger for anything at all.

It had become almost habitual. Though they seldom spoke, they had continued to rendezvous in secret. It was simple, passionless, and quick. It was just sex. Nothing more, nothing less.

Severa had come to expect it. When Lucina was having a bad day, when she stalked the castle grounds in a huff, angry and frustrated. Or in the dark of the night, when the loneliness and despair crept slowly into the castle halls. It was never more or less than that. No affection, no kissing, no complications. Pure, animalistic catharsis.

It had not been love, that much was certain. Perhaps that was why it hurts Lucina so very much.

They had huddled together in the great hall as the Risen pounded against the barricaded doors. They, like all the other remaining soldiers, sat against the wall, waiting for the inevitable.

The rest of the castle had fallen, and now it was a waiting game.

It was remarkable, in a way. How boring it had been. A room full of soldiers, all sitting, resting. Gripping tightly to worn and dented weapons. Lucina had tried to give a speech, but her words quickly failed her. She had looked across the room, looking at the sea of haggard faces, of tired eyes full of fear. And she had had no words to give them. Even she began to feel the despair creeping in.

Severa had sat at the back of the hall, alone, staring at the patch of floor between her boots. Lucina had sat next to her.

 

_“What?” Severa looked up, her weary eyes struggling to remain open enough to glare angrily._

_“I…” Lucina faltered. She sat down next to Severa, back to the wall, and pulled her knees close to her chest. “I’m sorry,” she said at last._

_“For what?” Severa picked at the eroded leather straps of her boots._

_“That I couldn’t do it.”_

_Severa said nothing. It wasn’t Lucina’s fault, but she was right. She didn’t do it. She failed, like her father had before her. And now she sat in the back of a barricaded throne room, royal sword on her hip. The last Exalt, and at her side was her consort, her concubine._

_Lucina watched Severa close her eyes._

_“If there was anyone I could be here with,” Severa said at last, opening her eyes after an interminable silence. “Here, at the end of all things…I would want it to be you.”_

_Lucina grasped her and pulled her into a kiss. Their first and last real kiss, in a silent throne room beset on all sides by hordes of Risen. With rattles of thunder and roars of fury, the room shook. The doors shuddered, threatening to splinter. The windows cracked, glass shards slipping between barricade boards. The soldiers whispered, shuddered, held each other, cried. And Lucina and Severa pressed their lips together, hands entwined tightly once last time._

_The door shattered with a furious blast, raining chunks of cracked wood into the entryway. And like that, the peace was broken with the fury of a brick through plate glass._

_Lucina drew Falchion, Severa held her iron blade forth, and the two leapt forward into the fray, joining their comrades-in-arms in the last stand against Grima’s forces._

_They lost track of each other quickly in the fighting. It was too hard to stay together, and it wasn’t strategically advantageous. And so they separated, each lost in their own carnage as they fought desperately against the fate they were all destined for._

 

It had been a losing battle from the start. There had been no hope of victory, no hope of anything but postponing the inevitable death.

 

_Lucina watched a group of soldiers push back, fighting the Risen back towards the entrance of the throne room. Quickly the crowds in the room thinned, leaving behind the wounded and dead. The soldiers had managed to stem the flow of Risen into the room, and as Lucina cut down the last remaining stragglers, she felt the spark return to her chest. A glimmer of hope. The Risen were being beaten back. They could be beaten. It wasn’t the end._

_She quickly scanned the room, taking stock of the situation. A few soldiers were desperately trying to repair barricades, aided by lancers thrusting spears out between the holes in the splintered wood. Other soldiers tended to the wounded, administering vulneraries._

_A soldier stopped at Lucina’s side. “Milady, we’re trying to barricade the door again. We’re going to retreat and regroup in the courtyard, which has been retaken. There was can hopefully put up a better fight.”_

_Lucina nodded._

She had found Severa shortly after.

_Lucina knelt in front of her, nausea washing over her in waves._

_“D-did I fight well, mother? Please tell me…I…” Severa mumbled almost deliriously._

_“S-Severa, Severa, it’s okay. It’s okay, I’m here.” She reached out gingerly and touched Severa’s face._

_Severa lifted her head weakly, and as she opened her mouth to speak blood dripped down her chin. “Oh…L-Lucina,” she said. She smiled and coughed. “Looks like y-you were right.”_

_Lucina examined her body. She was pinned to the wall, a lance thrust through her abdomen, just below her cuirass. Her stomach and legs were covered in blood. Lucina fought the urge to vomit._

_“I was right?” Lucina asked, touching the lance with a trembling hand._

_“I d-didn’t stand a chance,” Severa coughed and splattered blood down her chest. She blinked slowly, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Oh…g-gods, it hurts.”_

_“Come on, Severa,” Lucina said, wrapping a hand around the shaft of the lance. “We’re moving out. I’m going to get you out of here.”_

_Severa shook her head. Lucina lightly pulled the lance and she groaned, reaching a bloodied hand to grasp Lucina’s shoulder. “N-no,” she pleaded. “Just k-kill me,” she gasped. “P-plea-“_

_“No!” Lucina shouted, horrified. “I can’t!”_

_“P-please, Lucina.” Severa touched her stomach gingerly and groaned. “Oh gods, it hurts so…much. Please…I…” she coughed again. “I can’t…”_

_“No, Severa,” Lucina protested. “I can get you out of here! I can save you!”_

_Severa swallowed, the motion paining her. The newly-repaired barricade shook and cracked, already threatening to break apart._

_“Y-you have to go,” Severa said, pushing. Her hands were weak, doing little more than leaving bloodied handprints on Lucina’s clothing. “Just k-kill me and get it over with.”_

_Lucina looked from the dying girl to the cracking barricade. The room had all but emptied out, almost every other soldier having already evacuated. The only things left were corpses._

_“Please,” Severa begged. “It hurts so much…I just…want it to be over.”_

_“I’m sorry,” Lucina said, eyes brimming with tears. “I can’t. I…”_

_“Then…” Severa reached out, grasping for her sword, now just a hilt on a piece of shattered iron. “Just give me my sword, and…I’ll…do it.”_

_Lucina watched her flail weakly for it, but it was hopeless. It was too far for her to reach. She looked from the sword to Severa, and back to the ever-weakening barricade._

 

Under the bright sun, a breeze caressing her skin and drying the blood, the air filled with the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves, Lucina weeps. She wraps her arms around her head, screaming and crying. She can still feel it. The taste of Severa’s blood as they kissed one final time. The feel of Falchion pressing into her flesh. The sacred blade of Ylisse, forever stained with the blood of one of its own.

She spits, trying to get the taste of copper out of her mouth. There is work to be done. A future to be saved. But to Lucina there is nothing but the pain and the loneliness. She cries and cries, soaked in blood, until the sun sinks behind the trees and the world is bathed in glowing twilight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry okay back to cuter fluffier stuff I promise this is the only sad one


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severa returns to Ylisse, her Nohrian guard uniform tidy and her gear ready for travel. She is home, home at long last. Post-Fates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was gonna be a standalone fic, thus the length, but I decided to drop it here instead.

Late June in Ylisse is, as a rule, hot, sticky, and rainy. The floodplains surrounding Ylisstol do as their name implies and fill the valley with streams of water, trickling down from the mountains to the east and pouring in droves, spurred on by great roiling thunderstorms. North of the capitol, towards the sea, the land turns into craggy mountains, with great rocky crags jutting into the sky, with sparkling blue rivers between them.

But before the high, rocky mountains, the land turns to foothills, to thickly wooded groves dotting slops gradually increasing in steepness. The deciduous forests of the plains give way to pine trees and evergreen trees and clear mountain streams. Even in the hot summer, the elevation makes the air cool and breezy.

Severa grits her teeth and wipes sweat from her brow, leaning against a tree at the trail’s edge, gazing up at the steepening slope before her. She’s still got some ways to go, it seems, and the sun is quickly sinking behind the mountains. She stops for a rest, takes a drink of water from her flask, tightens her pack, and continues her upwards climb. The trail switchbacks, cutting back and forth into the hillside, weaving between pine trees tall enough to cast a twilight haze over the woods. It’s strange, to be traveling without a sword, but she welcomes the lighter load.

The forest is quiet and peaceful, a little too hot for her tastes, but the occasional breeze feels heavenly. She hadn’t dressed for the weather, and she regrets it. Her shirt is sticky with sweat and her pants are muddy from crossing all manner of creekbeds as she ascends into the mountains.

A crossroads marked with a wooden fence post indicates her destination draws nearer. A trail branches off, with wooden steps set into the dirt, making the climb considerably easier. She tugs herself up the rickety wooden handrail and crests the hill, finding herself in a quiet, secluded clearing. Pine trees encircle the clearing, and to the north, the high mountains frame it with impeccable natural beauty. Birds chirp and flit between the trees, some coming to roost on the roof of a small wooden cabin.

Severa stops for a moment at the trail head, watching. Other than the birds and the swaying of trees in the evening breeze, the scene is quiet and still.

She crosses the yard slowly, almost as if she’s putting off arriving at her destination. The cabin is quaint but plain, made primarily of unpainted, dark wood. It’s got a deck encircling it, with scattered chairs giving evidence of use. Large windows are set into its side, but Severa’s angle of approach affords no insight into the interior. Smoke drifts from the chimney before getting caught in the breeze and dissipating.

Severa walks carefully up the stairs, taking a deep breath before lifting her hand to knock.

The door opens with a creak, and bright blue eyes look out at her. They narrow, then widen with recognition.

The woman who answers opens her mouth to speak, but words fail to come to her. Then, at last.

“Severa.”

“Hey, Lucina.”

“Is it…really you?”

Severa nods and tightens her grip on her pack.

Lucina smiles broadly and takes a step back through the doorway. “Well, come in then.”

Severa sets her pack by the door and follows Lucina as she walks her through the cabin.

“Sorry about the mess,” Lucina apologizes. “I had Owain over to help me with some repairs, and, well…you know how he can be.” She smiles sheepishly and Severa stares, dazed.

“I was about to have some dinner, but there’s still time for you to get cleaned up.” Lucina looks at her curiously. “You still remember where the bathroom is, right?”

Severa nods. “Of course I do! Gods, it hasn’t been _that_ long.” The words come out before she even thinks about it. The air between them is tense.

“Four years is a long time,” Lucina says softly. Severa nods.

“Here, go get cleaned up,” Lucina pushes her gently. “I’ll get you a change of clothes and put yours with the laundry, okay?”

Severa walks through the cabin like a woman possessed, like she isn’t even present. Like she’s hesitant to believe what’s in front of her eyes. She draws a bath and closes her eyes as the sound of running water fills her ears. Something smells wonderful – a thick, savory aroma wafts through the cabin.

 _That can’t be Lucina’s doing. Someone must have left behind leftovers, or something_ , Severa thinks as she removes her sweat-slicked clothes from her body. She tugs off her gloves, her vest, her padded jacket, her skirt. She peels her sticky tights down her legs and stands, naked and shivering, watching the bathroom fill with steam.

She wraps her arms around herself and stares at the cloudy water, swirling with soap.

 _Four years_.

As she sinks into the bath, she tries not to think about anything. She tries to clear her mind and let it fill with wafting steam and whatever Lucina is cooking, and she closes her eyes and lets the weeks of travel melt from her skin. She dozes lightly and is only awoken by a soft knocking at the door.

“Mm…ngh?” she says blearily, sitting up. Modesty preserved by the foaming bathwater, she blinks sleep from her eyes. “Yeah?”

“I set some clothes out on the bed for you,” comes Lucina’s voice. “You can use the towel on the hook in there, it’s clean.”

“Mmkay,” Severa says. “Thanks.”

She wraps the towel around herself and steps out of the bathroom. Even in the hall, she feels uncomfortable. Something wasn’t right.

But her mind was lying to her, and she knew it was. This was her home. She had no need to feel nervous. There was no danger, no threat. It was peaceful. She tries her very best to shake the thoughts from her mind.

Even the bedroom is the same as she remembers, though the bedspread had changed in the intervening years. She gives a wry smile.

 _Never change, Luci_ , she thinks, touching the soft blanket. Time had done nothing for her sense of style, it seemed.

She holds herself tightly, damp and towel-clad, staring at the bed and the clothes folded neatly and set out for her.

Dark leggings, a cloth cuirass, and a well-worn dress, secured with brass buckles. She touches the stiff collar, running her finger over the tiny red bow.

“Been a while since you’ve worn _that,_ huh?” Lucina says, startling her from her thoughts.

“Huh? Yeah,” Severa says noncommittally.

“You okay?” Lucina asks, concern in her voice.

“Yeah, just…tired,” Severa replies, shifting her towel and wrapping her arms around her stomach. “It’s farther from the capitol than I remember it being.”

Lucina nods in agreement. “Especially with the flooding they’ve been having recently. Those spring rains really do a number on the roads down south.”

Severa knows she’s spacing out but can’t help it. Everything feels so familiar and foreign, all at the same time. The bright sky, the scent of pine needles. Her old clothes. Everything was different here. Even the air.

“What happened here?” Lucina brushes her bare arm softly, indicating a rough patch of skin.

It’s a burn – an old one, but at the time it was severe. A basara had clipped her with a fire spell. She closes her eyes, trying to ward off thoughts of writhing in pain, smoldering on the floor of some far away fort. Beruka had grabbed a bucket of water and doused her, but for the next week her arm was useless. Now, though, all that remained was a scar – mottled and dark. The nerves were dulled, and as Lucina touched her, Severa could only detect the contact because of pressure.

“It’s just an old wound,” Severa tries to wave it off. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Does it still hurt?”

Severa shakes her head and clutches her towel tighter around herself. She wants Lucina to leave. She doesn’t want to bare her skin to her, to show the extent of what she had been enduring for the past years. Lucina makes no move for the door, though.

“Go on, get dressed,” Lucina motions to the clothes on the bed. “Dinner’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

Severa dresses slowly, hoping in vain that her deliberate movements will let her cover the patchwork of scars on her body. She winces, seeing Lucina’s concerned stare.

“Gods, Sev…”

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I promise.”

She stares at her own body, and the tapestry of wounds that it is.

“What happened here?” Lucina touches her side.

 _A kitsune claw_.

“And here?”

_A naginata._

_A katana._

_A shuriken._

“Gods, Severa…” Lucina’s hand brushes the bottom of her ribcage, passing over a dark, ugly scar. “What happened?”

Severa recoils from her touch.

“I’m sorry,” Lucina hurries to apologize. “Does it still hurt?”

Severa nods. “It aches a bit, yeah.”

It was an arrow wound, one that had almost killed her.

“I’m sorry,” Lucina mutters. “I shouldn’t…” she shakes her head. “I’m going to finish up dinner. Come out when you’re ready, okay?”

“Luci, wait,” Severa drums up her courage. “I…I’m sorry. It’s just…it’s hard to talk about.”

“I understand,” Lucina says. She smiles warmly. “I won’t ask, okay? I promise. No talk about that.”

Severa nods and smiles. “Thanks, Lucina.”

By the time Severa walks back into the dining room, the entire house smells like something delicious. Severa tries to place the spices as she sits down, watching Lucina put the finishing touches on dinner.

“You sure this was you?” she teases, looking up at the plates Lucina is assembling. “You didn’t have some professional cook slip in while I was bathing?”

“Hey!” Lucina protests. She’s wearing an apron over her clothes, and Severa recognizes her own stitching. “I can cook! Morgan’s been teaching me.”

Severa narrows her eyes, doubtful. “Well, I’ll be the judge of that.”

Lucina’s cooking had never been…well, passable. But if she’d been on her own this whole time, _surely_ she must have improved. Lucina serves food before taking off her apron and oven mitts, and Severa regards the plates with suspicion.

Lucina gestures to the meal proudly. “Potato-leek soup with a chive garnish, garlic-roasted sirloin, and a side salad. Oh, and the wine!”

Severa whistles, impressed. “You really pulled out all the stops for me, huh? You were going to eat all this before you even knew I coming?”

Lucina blushes, crossing the kitchen to fetch two glasses and a bottle of wine. “W-well, you were taking awhile in the bath, so I figured…”

“I’m just joking, Luci,” Severa smirks. She stirs her soup and lifts a spoonful. She sniffs, considering. She takes a cautious sip.

“Well?” Lucina says, expectantly. “I don’t think it’s too bad, myself.”

Severa makes a show of thinking by pursing her lips and furrowing her brow. “Hmm…” she says, with an air of faux-haughtiness. “Probably could use a little bit of pepper…A little heavy on the rosemary, and…a little too light on the garlic.”

“W-well, the steak was cooked with garlic, so I thought-“ Lucina winces. “Don’t you like it?”

“I’m kidding,” Severa smiles warmly. “It tastes amazing.” To accent her point, she takes another spoonful. “I’m serious,” she says after a few more bites. “Morgan really must have done a number on you to turn you into this good of a cook. Unless soup is your only talent.”

“Well, I should hope not!” Lucina laughs, pressing her knife into her steak. “I promise, I can at least _sort of_ function on my own!”

Severa laughs as well, and suddenly she nearly forgets. The past years vanish in a haze of light-hearted conversation, of laughter and wine and food and the crackling fireplace. The windows darken as the day turns to night, and the cabin is filled with a warm, orange glow. She and Lucina laugh and talk like old times, like nothing had even happened. Lucina talks about her father, about Ylissean life, about their families and friends. Little Luci is doing well, and has apparently taken to horse riding without permission. Lucina does her best to stay out of her father’s life, but even so, she visits here and there.

Lucina rinses the dishes in the sink and the two migrate to the living room, where they continue talking, but closer. They sit together on Lucina’s well-worn couch, sharing the remainder of the wine bottle.

Lucina talks about her life, now. Her quiet, peaceful life in the mountains. She does odd jobs here and there for money, and occasionally teaches self-defense to the odd wanderer seeking skill.

“And my mom?” Severa asks, at long last. “Is she…?”

“She’s well,” Lucina sets her empty glass down. “Still the commander of the pegasus knights, though they haven’t had a need for battle yet.”

Severa nods. She wants to ask about…herself, but she stops. It all comes crashing back to her in an instant, and the wine in her stomach suddenly feels sickening.

“Are you okay?”

“Tired,” Severa says again. “I…maybe we should just turn in for the night.”

 

-

 

When Lucina wakes, it’s dark. She lays on her side and stares at the window. Even through the closed curtains, she can see the night outside is dusky and quiet. Behind her, she hears soft crying.

She rolls over. “Severa?” she whispers.

Severa is curled into a tight ball, her arms wrapped around herself, sniffling into her pillow. Lucina’s voice trips something in her and she breaks and cries harder. She sobs, gasping for breath, squeezing herself tightly.

“Severa, what’s wrong?” Lucina sits up.

Severa writhes, bawling with abandon for, as far as Lucina can tell, no reason. Lucina tries to touch her and she shifts backwards, shaking her head. A fresh wave of tears wracks her.

“Hey, hey…” Lucina whispers, moving towards her slowly. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe. You’re home. It’s okay.”

Her voice is calm and gentle, and its familiarity does little to still Severa’s wounded heart. She tries to focus on Lucina’s words, and she drags herself to a point where she can stifle her sobs.

“Shh…” Lucina takes care not to touch her. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Severa’s sobbing calms to a whimper.

“Shh, hey…hey, I’m here, okay? Can you hear me?”

Severa nods.

“Okay.” Lucina fumbles with the bedspread, trying to disentangle Severa from the crumpled blanket. “Hey, it’s okay. Do you need me to get you anything? Do you want a drink?”

Only a nod, again.

“Okay. I’m going to go get you some warm milk and honey. You still like that, right? Does that sound okay?”

A nod and a sniffle.

“I’ll get you a cold cloth while the milk heats up,” Lucina says, slipping out of bed and into the hall.

Severa lays, motionless and sniveling, until Lucina returns with a cold, wet cloth. Severa sits back against the bed’s headboard and takes the cloth gratefully. She presses it against her eyes.

“Are you okay for me to leave you for a minute?” Lucina kneels at her side. “I’ll be right back.”

Severa nods into the washcloth.

Lucina returns with a warm ceramic mug. She kneels at the bedside and offers it to Severa, who reaches an unsteady hand out. Lucina helps her wrap a hand around the mug and helps her bring it to her lips. Lucina can feel her hand shaking and watches her chest rise and fall unevenly.

Severa brings her lips to the mug and drinks. Her throat is closed and she takes a minute to gulp down the first drink.

“There you go,” Lucina says, tilting the mug back. “It’s okay.”

The drink is warm, sweet, and creamy, and Severa closes her eyes, trying to focus on the taste and the warmth as it trickles down her throat. She reaches her other hand up and grasps the mug both hands shaking but combined to keep it steady.

“There you go,” Lucina repeats. She stands and touches Severa’s hair. “Is it okay if I sit with you?”

Severa nods.

Lucina crawls back into bed and sits at her side, resting her back against the bed’s headboard, watching Severa slowly drink.

She stays silent, waiting for Severa to speak first.

She had always slept poorly, and apparently the intervening time had done her no favors. Back in their own time, each crackle of branches, each whisper of wind was enough to rouse her to wakefulness, to cause her to spring from her bedroll, sword in hand. Even on nights when she could sleep soundly, her dreams were plagued by blood and fire. They had all struggled with it. Even after leaping back through time, the nightmare visions of a future not yet come to pass refused to leave them. Even now, years after Grima’s defeat, Lucina sometimes finds herself waking in a cold sweat, dark red eyes pursuing her through fields of blood and smoke and corpses in her mind.

Perhaps that was what had prompted Severa to leave. Lucina thought back on their conversation often, wondering if she truly meant the words she had said.

“We don’t belong here, Lucina. There is no place for us.”

It had been a source of major contention – of knock-down screaming-and-yelling fights, of tearful struggles to come to terms with the life they were forced to live. In the end, Lucina decided that it was worth staying. This is the future they had saved. It was their life to live, at long last.

Severa couldn’t bring herself to agree. She would wake in the night, chest heaving, groping for her sword only to find she had put it away. She still trained. Fighting seemed to be her only source of comfort. What had she said to Lucina?

_“It’s all I know.”_

So she left. She promised to return, and she did. But it had been a long four years, and something must have happened to turn the brash, strong-willed soldier into the quivering mess Lucina saw before her.

But Lucina knows better than to prod.

Severa stares into her mug, blinking slowly. Lucina wants to reach out and wipe her tear-stained cheeks but fears the contact might be too much.

“I’m sorry for waking you,” Severa says at last.

Lucina frowns. “No, don’t…you don’t need to apologize. You know you don’t.”

Severa nods slowly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lucina asks cautiously.

Severa nods again and takes another slow sip from her mug. She takes a moment to breathe before speaking. “I…I never should have left. I’m sorry, Lucina.” She closes her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

 

-

 

Lucina and Severa lay in the half-light, buried under covers, face-to-face with hands clasped tightly. Severa isn’t speaking. A lamp is lit by the bedside at Severa’s request.

Lucina runs her thumbs over the backs of Severa hands, trying her best to will some sort of transmission of love into existence. Severa still trembles occasionally, but her open eyes are fixed on Lucina’s hands.

Lucina’s eyes wander to the band of cool silver wrapped around her own ring finger. And Severa’s, matching. She speaks, breaking the silence for the first time in what seems like a lifetime.

“I want to get married.”

“What?” Severa asks, her voice hoarse from crying.

Lucina runs a finger over Severa’s ring, stroking the smooth metal. “I…I want to make it official. Not just rings, but…you know. The whole thing.”

Severa frowns. “Why?”

Lucina shrugs. “Because I love you. I want to spend my whole life with you. And even when we’re apart, I…I want to…” she fumbles for the words. It wasn’t just about the rings. It was something else. “The whole time you were gone, I…I wished we had before you left. I know it’s stupid, but…” she blinks and is surprised to find tears forming in her eyes. “It doesn’t even have to be a big thing. Just the two of us.”

Severa draws her hand back, furrowing her brow. “We’d have to pick who gets whose name.”

Lucina smiles playfully. “Which would you prefer?”

Severa frowns. “I want yours.”

“See, that’s what I was going to say. We could hyphenate.”

“Ew, no. Imagine writing that on all your forms. Besides, it wouldn’t have a nice ring to it.”

Lucina hums. “Lowell-Tiamo isn’t bad. Tiamo-Lowell, though…”

“Ew, bad!” Severa glowers. “No, I want your name. No negotiations.”

“Fine. I get to pick the flowers, then.”

“If you pick hydrangeas, I’m breaking up with you.”

Lucina pouts. “Why?”

“I don’t like how they look. No roses, either.”

“Couldn’t stand not being the only prickly red thing there?” Lucina teases, and Severa draws her hands back.

“No, I…” she tucks her face against her pillow. “I want carnations.”

Lucina smiles warmly. “Okay. Carnations.”

Severa cheeks flush – dried tears still track down them, but she’s on the verge of a gentle smile. She blinks slowly, calmly.

“Well then, it’s settled,” Lucina says, scooting closer. She takes Severa’s hand in her and kisses the back of it before grasping it tightly with both of her own. She kisses it again. “Severa Luna Tiamo, will you marry me?”

Severa gulps. Her throat feels raw and her chest feels tight, and her face flushes against her will. She withdraws her hands from Lucina’s and slides backwards in bed, away from her.

Lucina frowns. “Severa, did I-“

Severa shakes her head. “I…” she blinks and tears roll down her face and soak into her pillow. “I wanna say something.”

“Of course. Anything.”

Severa takes a deep, shaking breath. “I…” She swallows again. “We were…in some fort, I can’t even remember the name, now. I don’t know how it happened, but…we got surrounded. It was dark, and there were just…so many of them. We were stuck in a choke point, and the next thing I knew I was…” she took another sharp breath. “An archer got me, I guess. I got knocked to the ground, and I panicked. I know it’s not how you deal with arrow wounds, but I just…I yanked it out without thinking. It…it hurt so much. More than anything you can imagine. I could feel the blood pouring out of my chest, and I just…”

Lucina stares at her, sickness creeping into her stomach. The thought of Severa…

“I just remember laying on the ground, squirming and moaning, bleeding out in the dirt. It hurt so badly, and every breath just tasted like copper. It wasn’t just the chest pain - it felt like I was drowning – each gasp brought pain and a mouthful of blood. I tried to open my mouth to scream and it was just…more blood. I was so scared.”

“Severa…” Lucina whispers.

“I remember laying on my back, surrounded by bodies, and staring up at the night sky. I felt so scared, and just…so far from home. And I knew that you weren’t there – nowhere, in that whole vast field of stars. I tried to reach out and I saw your ring, smeared with blood, and…”

She closes her eyes and clenches her hand into a tight fist. “I knew I couldn’t die there. I…I had made a promise to you. I promised I would return to you. I managed to push myself to my feet with my sword and stumble forward. I couldn’t…I couldn’t die, not so far from you, with no way for you to know what happened to me. I…I fell, and each time I did it brought more pain, and more blood, and I…I don’t know what happened. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in the infirmary, with bandages wrapped around my chest.”

She opens her eyes at last. “I…I swore to myself. I swore to Naga herself…if I made it out of there alive, I would never leave your side, ever again. If it weren’t for you…I don’t know if I would have had the strength to…” Tears well in her eyes. Through them, she smiles, and she lets out a short, hoarse laugh. “So, yes, Lucina parents-didn’t-give-me-a-middle-name Lowell. Yes, I will marry you.” She clasps Lucina’s hands in her own. “Yes, I will. I want to remain by your side until the end of time.”

Lucina blinks back tears, surprised when Severa leaned in close to kiss her, firmly but gently.

“No matter where we go,” Severa continues softly. “We go together. I promise you.”

Lucina grasps the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss. Tears track down her cheeks but she doesn’t care. Severa reaches up and cups Lucina’s cheeks and holds her tightly, pressing their lips together.

They shift in bed and Lucina rolls onto her, straddling her, unwilling to break the kiss. Severa drops her hands and wraps them tight around the small of Lucina’s back, urging her closer, pressing their bodies together. Finally, Lucina breaks for air.

“I…I love you so much,” Severa speaks first, blinking tears. “I love you, Lucina. I love you with my whole heart.”

Lucina smiles and sobs. “I love you, too…please…please stay with me. Promise me you’re mine.”

“Of course.” Severa’s voice is hoarse. “I’ve always been yours. Now and forever.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another future, one already saved, Severa prepares to follow in her mother's footsteps. ~17 years after FEA's conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about how there's a second batch of kids that grow up in a normal, peaceful world, and thinking about how different their lives might be, so this is kind of a little poke at that concept; a quiet life in Ylisse, free from apocalyptic burdens. But, with the very singular and bizarre experience of knowing that they share this world with another version of themselves. 
> 
> Hey, I dunno! Just things to think about!

Lucina lifted her hand to her brow to block out the sunlight and peered across the training field, trying to fix her eyes on a speck flitting across the horizon. She squinted, then turned her gaze to the ticking stopwatch in her palm. She watched the hand lurch forward, each second counted off by a slow, steady rhythm. She lifted her head and gazed skywards again.

The sky was bright blue, bordered with dark grey clouds indicating far off storms, somewhere to the south. But here, in the fields outside of Ylisstol’s castle, it was bright and breezy. The training grounds were nearly empty, and the green field that stretched out before her was idyllic and still, save that single speck on the horizon, drawing quickly nearer.

Lucina checked her watch again.

The speck plunged out of a bank of clouds and took shape – white wings beating the air frantically, hooves pawing wildly, a white mane fluttering in the wind – and the pegasus’ rider, a slender figure clad in brown leather.

The pegasus dove, careening towards the ground with reckless abandon at the behest of its rider. Just before impact it swooped, narrowly darted between two stone towers, vaulted a wall, and hit the grass of the training field with a thump. The pegasus galloped across the field in Lucina’s direction, and at this distance Lucina could get a better look at the rider. A girl, by the looks of it; leather riding pants, shoulder-length gloves, and an iron helmet clamped over rippling red hair. The pegasus thundered forward like a force of nature.

Finally the pegasus came careening into a slow-down, skittering in the grass and scraping tracks of mud in as it tried to slide to a stop at Lucina’s side. It skidded sideways, digging into the dirt and grinding to a halt. Its rider leapt from its back, practically flung by the force of the stop, and stumbled forward to Lucina’s side, ripping her helmet off and dropping it to the side.

With a click, Lucina stopped her watch.

“Time!” she shouted, looking at Lucina expectantly, chest heaving. She doubled over, gasping for breath.

“Four-fifteen,” Lucina smiled.

“YES!” the girl shouted triumphantly. “Eat it, Cynthia!” she kicked her helmet and sent it spiraling away into the grass.

“You know, Sev, that with a time like that you’re easily in the top three.”

“Hm?” Severa wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up. “Yeah, of course. I’m the fastest cadet by at least ten seconds.”

Lucina shook her head. “No, I mean the overall time. I think your mom’s was four-twelve.”

Severa pumped her fist. “Hell yeah!”

“And here you were worried about getting into the Falcon Knights.”

Severa withdrew a flask from her hip and dumped half of its contents on her face before taking a drink. “Yeah,” she said, choking down a gulp of water. “Well, you know my sword form’s still lousy.”

“But that’s something that’s easy to work on. Your riding is fantastic, and you’re going to totally crush the competition tomorrow.”

“Hell yeah,” Severa grinned, her pride infectious and undeniable. “Hey, you wanna go for a ride?”

“Huh?”

Severa thrust a thumb backwards at her pegasus. “I could take another lap, if you want to join. I’m sure Polaris won’t mind an extra passenger.”

Lucina winced, and Severa stammered quickly to recover. “Oh, I don’t mean another timed lap! Just a nice, casual ride. I kinda need to de-stress after…” she lifted her hand. Her riding-glove-clad hand was crumpled into a death-grip on what should have been reins, and it was trembling slightly.

Severa always did this to herself – she pushed herself too hard for too long. It wasn’t healthy, and it’s a miracle she didn’t kill herself pushing for a faster time as it was. Lucina sighed. “Just one lap, okay? And slow, you know I get nervous.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Severa waved her over. She paused to stroke Polaris’ mane and whisper comforting, congratulatory words in her ear. The pegasus whinnied and snickered, evidently ready for another round. Lucina was glad that Severa’s mount was just as irrepressible as her rider.

Severa climbed up first before helping Lucina mount the horse behind her. As Severa fastened her boots into the stirrups, Lucina wrapped her arms tightly around her abdomen.

“Oh, tie your hair up,” Severa remembered, passing a leather tie back. Your hair can really start flapping around up there, and we don’t wanna have an incident like last time. With some embarrassment, Lucina remembered Severa coughing on a mouthful of her hair. She took the accessory and tied her hair into a neat low ponytail.

“Alright, ready to go? Holding on tight?”

Lucina nodded, resting her head against Severa’s back. She closed her eyes for just a moment, allowing herself to block out everything but her arms around her waist and the scent of her hair…and sweat. Lucina recoiled slightly just as Severa set off.

Polaris carried the two at a steady gallop, building speed for the eventual take-off. Not strictly necessary, but a habit Severa couldn’t quite seem to break. And with a lurch and a leap, they were airborne. Lucina’s stomach dropped as the ground sank away.

She wasn’t _afraid_ of flying, per se. She was maybe a little afraid of Severa trying to pull some stunt, but for the most part she enjoyed flying in the same way some enjoyed scary stories – the thrill of danger, all while knowing she was safe in Severa’s charge.

The wind rushed past her ears and filled her head. They careened skywards, plunging up into the deep greyish blue, leaving the training fields far behind. Severa was a reckless rider but a skilled one, but even so Lucina could feel an anxiety building her, the unsettling feeling that Severa wasn’t _quite_ as in control as she made herself out to be. They reached a peak and leveled out, and Severa brought her mount into a glide.

Lucina let out a breath, relieved to no longer be ascending. She loosened her death-grip on Severa’s stomach, letting herself rest back in the saddle and relax a bit. From this height, she could see across the training fields to the castle proper, and even Ylisstol’s castle town beyond. She watched the navy flags fluttering from the parapets, watched the tiny specks of patrolling guards or strolling nobles around the castle grounds. A smile crept across her face.

It was such a perfect scene; the tan stone of the castle, framed in the late-afternoon blue. Far off clouds, rolling in the sky where the plains met the mountains, sweeping up at the horizon like teeth into the sky. The castle town, the neighboring river, the forest and fields of Lucina’s childhood. Everything visible from this height, like a miniature diorama of color and light.

And Severa, her gaze fixed forward, her hands tight on the reins as she steered her mount into the sky. She stopped and let them drift, catching the wind and lazily gliding back towards the ground. An updraft caught them and rolled them gently skywards.

“It’s beautiful,” Lucina murmured, her voice almost drowned out by the wind.

“Hm? Yeah!” Severa agreed, looking over her shoulder briefly.

Lucina smiled and clutched her tighter, though this time it was simply an embrace. She pressed her lips into Severa’s back, knowing her gesture would go unnoticed. Severa worked too hard. She was so fixated on her goals – in this case, meeting the standards for the Falcon Knights – that she never seemed to stop and appreciate the world around her. Perhaps its simply that she was used to the view, but to Lucina it seemed that she was shutting out all but her goal. Her hands wrapped tight around the reins, her legs tense in the stirrups.

Lucina slid a cautious hand forward and rested it on Severa’s. “I thought you were trying to relax.”

Severa nodded, and Lucina could feel her muscles loosen up. Her tenseness slowly lessened. In Lucina’s embrace, she melted.

 

-

 

“I thought I’d find you up here,” Lucina said softly. “Mind if I join you?”

Severa shrugged and gestured to the empty rooftop around her. Lucina reached up and grabbed the edge, digging her fingers into the flagstones and hauling herself up over the lip. She had balanced carefully on a parapet to reach this point, and now just a short hop landed her at Severa’s side – on a sloped roof, high above the castle courtyard. Severa was laying on her back, staring up at the night sky. Lucina sat next to her.

“You okay?”

“Hm? Yeah,” Severa said softly.

Lucina sighed and laid down at her side. The silence between them was almost palpable – the night air was quiet. A warm breeze drifted lazily across the rooftop, and Lucina looked at the field of white dots above them.

“Which one’s your favorite?” Lucina asked, her eyes fixed on the stars. Severa didn’t response, so Lucina continued. “I always liked Baldur.” She traced the outline of the constellation in the sky.

“I was never very good at picking out constellations,” Severa admitted. “I guess Sety, cause it’s easy to find.”

“Here, look,” Lucina pushed herself up on her elbows and slid herself closer to Severa. “Look, see? Those three stars there, those are Baldur’s sword. And from there, you can kinda pick out the rest.”

“I don’t get it.”

Lucina moved closer, almost laying on top of her. She pressed her cheek against Severa’s, trying to get both of their faces at the exact same angle. “Look,” she said again, pointing. “Right there, that really bright one?”

“The kinda purple one.”

“That’s the one! Then the three down, then…” Lucina’s voice faltered as she turned to face Severa, realizing how close they were. She paused for a moment before leaning forward and kissing Severa’s cheek.

“What was that for?”

“You look cute,” Lucina blushed, giving Severa space. She laid down again, resting her head against the flagstone shingles. Far below, she could hear the muted sound of voices and footsteps in the courtyard. No doubt milling guards, or someone else up late. Lucina took Severa’s hand and squeezed it.

The two lay in silence together, staring up at the stars, Lucina’s thumb rubbing over her knuckles.

“You okay?” Lucina asked again, at last.

Severa nodded.

“Worried about tomorrow?”

Another nod.

“Oh, Severa,” Lucina wrapped an arm around her and tugged her into an embrace. Severa rested her head on Lucina’s chest. “You know you’re going to do fine.”

“I know, I just…” Severa closed her eyes. “I don’t want to disappoint my mom.”

“Why would you disappoint her?”

“If I don’t do well enough. She’s…she’s perfect, and I’m just…me.”

“Is that why you feel like you have to beat her time?”

Another silent nod into Lucina’s chest.

“Well, you’re not her, okay? You’re _you_. And I fell in love with _you_ , and I know you’re going to do just fine.” Lucina could feel the soft rise and fall of Severa’s shoulders as she shrugged. She sighed. “You’re thinking about _her_ , aren’t you?”

“Who?”

“You know. The other you.”

Severa sat up and rested her head in her hands. “It’s just…what if I’m making a mistake? She didn’t…she wasn’t a pegasus knight. Why should I be? Should I not be following in my mother’s footsteps? Should I-mmph!”

Lucina cut her off with a kiss, catching the back of Severa’s head and tugging her tight. Lucina kissed her deeply, trying her damnedest to smother Severa’s fears with affection. By the time she began to pull away, Severa fought back, grasping Lucina’s head and keeping their kiss locked tight. She kissed her again, and again, trying to lose her anxieties in a sea of soft lips and gentle hands. Finally, the two broke apart, bodies still entwined.

“You’re going to do amazing,” Lucina said quietly. “I know you are. You aren’t your mother, you aren’t…this other self. You’re _you_ , and that’s all you should ever worry about being.” She kissed Severa again, chastely, before pulling back.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Severa said, readjusting to sit parallel to Lucina.

“What is?” Lucina took her hand and twined their fingers together before resting her head on Severa’s shoulder.

“I mean…there being another me, out there somewhere. Another you, too.”

Lucina shrugged halfheartedly. “I guess so.”

“And _they’re_ in love, too! Doesn’t that weird you out?”

“No,” Lucina brought Severa’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “I think it’s cute.”

“Cute? It’s weird!”

“The way I see it,” Lucina cast her gaze skywards. “It just means we’re meant to be, right? Every iteration of us, no matter our background.”

“If you say ‘soulmates’ I’m pushing you off this roof.”

Lucina laughed. “No, no, I mean…I love you, Severa, but it’s stronger than that. It’s like…”

Severa began lightly pressing on her, pushing her towards the edge, and Lucina laughed again.

“No, really! Think about it! You’re mine, and I’m yours. Always. In any world, in any reality. It’s always us. At least…that’s what I choose to believe.”

Severa sniffled. “You’re going to make me cry,” she grumbled.

Lucina kissed her shoulder. “Come on, you need to rest up for tomorrow. We should really be getting to sleep.”

“Ugh,” Severa splayed out on the flat of her back. “The barracks are so far away, though…”

Lucina rolled her eyes and smiled. “Well, good thing my room’s only a short walk away, right?”

Severa sat up. “I thought you said we should be _sleeping_ ,” she smirked.

“Oh, that can wait a little bit,” Lucina took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She helped Severa climb down off the roof and the two landed on a narrow parapet along the castle wall. Hands clasped together, they walked back through the castle.

“Though, really, you do need to be getting some rest.”

“Why’s that?”

“If you oversleep and miss the assessments, then you won’t be allowed into the Falcon Knights. And you _need_ to be in the Falcon Knights if you want to be my guard, right?”

Severa grinned. Lucina had a point.


End file.
